Underneath the Surface
by cutsipie
Summary: What can Amy do when she is trapped underground with Sonic who is unable to run and their oxygen supply is rapidly dwindling.
1. mining for emeralds

It's very obvious I don't own the Sega characters… keep in mind this story is not a sequel of Love has Second Chances. It is a completely different story. Anyway…enjoy and I'll try to make this story longer.

"Hey Tails, you pick up something on radar?" Sonic fidgeted in his seat on the X-Tornado. Normally he would prefer to ride on top, however the weather was not in his favor today and the rain continued to pour down like a waterfall. Sonic and Tails currently have six chaos emeralds, they were on a hunt for the last one. Tails started to feel a strong vibration from the plane engine (No, not just because it was moving). The last chaos emerald was not far.

Sitting behind Sonic was Amy. She'd grown into quite a young lady, now eighteen years old. Her quills were still pink as bubblegum, instead now they reached her shoulders. Her quills were not like other hedgehog quills. They were not sharp or rough and they didn't hurt to touch. No, they were soft like velvet. Smooth as the finest silk. Her face was simply beaming with energy. She tried to peer at the radar but couldn't see in front of Tails. Amy could feel her heart pounding with excitement. She would no longer allow herself to rely on her friends to rescue her. Today she would do anything she could to help. More than anything she was determined to prove that she could be worth more than just a hostage. As Tails lowered the plane they appeared to be nearing some kind of abandoned mining field. The ground was a blanket of ash and soot. One by one they stepped off of the plane. First Sonic of course, then Chris, followed by Knuckles, then Amy and Tails got off last taking a single chaos emerald out of the power generator. Tails held the green emerald up high in his palm. It glistened in the sunlight. As they made their way across the barren field their feet left a trail of footprints as if they were walking in the snow. Tails watched the emerald closely waiting and hoping for some kind of sign. It was like they were playing a game of hot and cold. "The last emerald has to be around here somewhere," said Tails optimistically. Sonic in hesitantly replied, "Don't worry, we'll find it!" The team's moral was high. "Yeah!" Amy shouted desperately trying to make it seem like she was apart of the team.

All of sudden the ground shook violently and behind them appeared a tall cactus shaped robot with a marigold color (guess who?). All eyes concentrated on it. There was a dead silence. Nobody moved for what seemed like an eternity. "Well? What are you waiting for hedgehog? Why don't you attack?" Eggman sneered with an obvious deceptive tone. Sonic's eyes only narrowed and he stood poised ready to dodge any hit that came. Finally Eggman could wait no longer, "Enough of this game! Attack Cactoron!" (I know the name is really original, tehehe sarcasm is fun) One of the needles on the robot launched like a rocket aiming for Sonic. He effortlessly dodged it. To confuse the cactus plant robot Sonic started jumping from one needle to the next. He soon became nearly invisible he was moving so rapidly. What happened next caught Sonic off guard. One of the needle like missiles launched, but instead of aiming towards him it suddenly jolted to the right. Amy now stood in the missile's line of fire. For a brief moment she stood there blankly, but then thought to herself, _"Come on! Don't just stand there! Remember girl, you're not going to be Eggman's back up plan anymore. _With only seconds to spare she pulled out her hammer and leaped out of the way. While in the air she threw her hammer like a boomerang toward the missile destroying it. She landed on the ground gracefully doing a little twirl. A proud smile displayed on her face. The victory was short lived. There were now dozens of missiles being aimed toward her all at once. Her hammer was ready again. She knocked each one down as it came near like she was in a batting cage. By now Sonic was at her side helping fight away as many as he could. Knuckles had now joined in too. Tails and Chris continued taking baby steps to see if the emeralds reaction increased, they had no doubt in their minds that the others could handle the overgrown cactus plant. When it seemed all missiles had been launched Amy paused from her swinging. Sonic was panting like a dog (no offense to dogs, I love dogs). While they were catching their breath they suddenly realized there was a single missile that they had missed. It blew to pieces in midair. Now exposed was an entrance to a dark underground mine that was most likely abandoned years ago.


	2. The search continues

During the explosion Eggman had managed to retreat unnoticed and Knuckles was also absent. "Hey where did Knuckles go?" asked Chris who was first to notice he was missing. "I wouldn't get to worried about him, he probably went looking on his own," said Sonic. He jokingly added, "Man, can't he at least pretend to be friends with us?" Tails examined the green emerald. "I think we should check in there," he said pointing to the mine entrance. The other three nodded and the gang proceeded into the aphotic (dark) mine. The only source of light was the chaos emerald which was now aglow and radiant.

After a few minutes of walking aimlessly the team noticed that the mine now split into an elaborate maze of tunnels and paths. Amy sighed, "I wish we had a map." Chris quickly made a suggestion, "I think this will work better if we divide up into groups." The team welcomed the idea. Sonic took a step forward, "Yeah." He looked around for a moment then said, "I better stay with Amy so we don't lose her." Amy was more offended than pleased with this remark. Luckily it was to dark to see the pout on her face. _"I guess I still have a lot to prove, but I really can't blame Sonic. I did used to act kind of babyish in the past."_ She soon apprehended that everyone else had started walking. Tails stopped in his tracks and he looked toward Sonic. "Hey wait, won't you guys need a light?" Sonic pulled an emerald out from seemingly nowhere (literally, the writer doesn't even know where he got it from). "I thought we'd need this," he glanced behind him to confirm that Amy was still following him.

Chris and Tails went to the tunnel on the right, Amy and Sonic to the left. The green emerald which was still in Tails' possession changed little in brightness as they headed deeper and further into the vast tunnel. The walls were filled with tiny vesicules (holes) allowing tiny streams of light to peer through.

In some other random tunnel Knuckles was digging furiously almost as if he were in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. His fist hit a large boulder which left a nice bruise on his right hand. "Oww!" he exclaimed. With a strong haul he removed the massive boulder and who should he come face to face with but Eggman. Knuckles grunted, "What's up doc?" (ha ha, get it? I know, lame but I had to put it there) "Now is that any kind of greeting to a future king of the universe?" Eggman replied conceitedly. Knuckles leered at him suspiciously. "Just what are you planning now?" Eggman was now being uplifted by his hovercraft thingy. (does he have a name for that thing?) He chuckled menacingly, "You'll find out soon enough." With that said he took off before Knuckles could revile.

There was an awkward silence in the atmosphere between Sonic and Amy. Their red chaos emerald had not yet shown any reaction. With each step they had renewed hope and with each step that hope was mutilated. Still silence. Neither one of them had uttered a word in hours. Then for a second Amy's ears perked up and she held her breath listening, waiting. "What's up?" asked Sonic who'd noticed she had stopped moving. Amy replied, "I just thought I heard something." Sonic put his hand to his ear and listened intently. "Well, it's gone now," he said as he resumed his search. Amy wasn't so sure but followed reluctantly. She heard it again a small tiny sound like the drop of a penny. This time Sonic had heard it also. He was looking around franticallyprobing aroundfor what could have been the source of the peculiar noise. "Sonic!" Amy yelled suddenly pointing behind him. Her finger was tense and quivering slightly. It quickly registered in his mind what Amy was pointing at. Behind him was a robot which resembled a rat with two rectangular shaped teeth and a long tail of bronze. It had sharp jagged claws that looked as if they could snatch you in the blink of an eye.

Sonic took a few steps back while keeping Amy close behind him. He glared at the rodent and got in ready position for a homing attack. Amy pulled out her hammer secretly behind her back. Sonic leaped up doing a homing attack which happened to land on the robot's nose. The rat countered with a swing of its claw. It grabbed Sonic's leg and threw him into the ground. Before the rat had a chance to strike once more Amy gave a powerful swing of her hammer which hit the rodent's left side. It was not completely destroyed but was now dismantled into several different pieces and was incapable of movement. She ran over to Sonic who was clutching his leg in pain. He let out a loud groan as she gently touched his leg moving her hand up and down. The mechanical beast had torn his calf muscle. Sonic winced, "I don't think I can run."


	3. Now what do I do?

I'm so proud of myself, I learned how to do chapters! Anyway, the search continues...

At this moment in time it was essential that Amy come up with a plan and quick. She didn't know whether to remain with Sonic or to go look for help. Perhaps if they went back they could exit the way they came in. This plan would be short lived. The rodent attempted one last swing of its tail before completely deactivating. The blow hit nowhere near the vicinity where Sonic and Amy were but hit a boulder which was supporting the tunnel. The boulder was cut in half like a knife cutting into a loaf of bread. The tunnel entrance collapsed eliminating their primary fallback plan. Amy sighed exasperated, "Well that's not going to help us." Sonic was barely conscious but could sense Amy's distress. "We just can't panic," whispered Sonic who tried to sound as reassuring as possible. "I know," Amy replied still trying to establish some kind of plan. For a moment Amy was granted a break from their misfortune. Sitting about six feet away from them was a pile of abandoned mining supplies. Axes, shovels, picks, oxygen masks, and other various items that Amy was not familiar with.

In the air they breathed there was another factor that the two hedgehogs were unaware of. The carbon monoxide levels were steadily increasing. If the toxic gas continued this pattern it would rise to dangerous levels.

Amy pushed her palms against the ground and pulled herself up. _"I have to find the chaos emerald." _She thought. The faster she found the emerald the sooner they could focus all attention on locating an exit. She picked up the cardinal colored emerald which flashed for a second like a bolt of lightning. Amy then noticed that Sonic was coughing continuously. She picked up the breathing aid set it down next to him. Sonic nodded acknowledging that he knew it was there in case of emergency. She bent down and kissed Sonic's forehead tenderly while whispering into his ear, "I'll be back." With that she got up and looked ahead into the darkness. The only way to go was forward. Sonic tried to protest but Amy was out of his view by the time he had gained enough strength to speak.

The eerie silence that followed Amy sent a small shiver up her spine. She was alert to every sound that went on. She was aware of every breath she took, aware of every pebble she kicked with each step, aware of the gentle thump her feet made as they moved almost subconsciously. Left, right, left, right. Amy nearly forgot she was in control of her legs. _"I wish I'd stayed with Sonic." _A few seconds after thinking this she was ashamed of herself. _"oh, I'm being selfish. For once Sonic actually needs my help and I'm not going to let him down because I'm a little afraid of the dark." _She forced a semblance of courage in her facial expression.

With a deep breath she continued down the rugged path. She was making great progress now. Or so she thought. After about fifteen minutes of walking this way Amy had come to a dead end, however the chaos emerald was oddly glowing and luminous despite this. Amy wanted to cry when she realized the path ended. She would soon have a larger concern. Behind her was another rat like robot identical to the one that had attacked them earlier. It's alien like eyes leered at her evilly. Amy nearly fell over startled and she could feel her heart in her throat.

"_Oh, no." _she whispered barely audible.


	4. Almost there?

Amy took a small step backwards. With a deep breath she pulled out her hammer once again. She made an attempt to destroy it like the other one by hitting it sideways on the left. She missed by an inch and fell over. Eggman had obviously been well prepared for these battle conditions. She scrambled to her feet quickly as she could. _"I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry."_ The rat opened its metallic mouth a let out a puff of smoke infecting the oxygen supply which was already dwindling. Amy wheezed covering her mouth and nose. The air was becoming highly toxic, but for now there was nothing Amy could do about that. The rodent swung its claw and Amy simultaneously swung her hammer. Both collided struggling to push the other away. Amy was rapidly losing strength but she knew what that rat wanted and she was not giving up the ruby emerald without a battle.

Amy then swiftly moved out of the way causing the rat to fall forward. The robotic rodent then whacked the ceiling with its tail causing several large boulders to fall. Amy prepared herself and precisely knocked each one out of the way with her gigantic mallet. Only one managed to knock her down momentarily. Amy took a few seconds to catch her breath. Then, with all the energy she had left she lifted her hammer and slammed it downward into the tunnel floor. The hit sent a powerful fissure right through the mechanical rat and it self destructed upon impact.

Amy's wheezing was now an incessant pattern. When she was finally breathing somewhat normally she noticed a faint glow near the pieces of scrap metal. She approached cautiously, praying that she would not be attacked again. Her prayer must have been answered for lying in the pile of metal junk was a yellow chaos emerald, the final one. When her mind registered what it was her heart wanted to sing. "_YAY! Sonic's going to be so relieved that I found it!" _Though she didn't have the energy to run she moved as swiftly as possible. When she thought she wasn't too far from where she left Sonic she began to feel light headed. She was nearly out of breath and once again was coughing violently.

Amy felt a sharp pain in her back and wailed in pain. She covered her mouth and whimpered, _"No, now Sonic's going to come looking for me. I don't want to think I'm weak anymore." _Poor Amy was nearly in sobs. She leaned against the wall taking baby steps. _"Come on, just a little further." _

Sonic did hear Amy's cries and for the first time he felt helpless to do anything. Sonic glanced at his wounded leg. It was still sore but all the blood had dried. He gripped the wall and pulled himself up. He stumbled a little but as soon as he gained enough balance he moved toward the distressed shouts.

Amy could take no more and sank to the floor (its fun to rhyme). A few seconds later she saw a figure in the distance and realized it was Sonic. At the same time however, Amy's vision was becoming dimmer and dimmer. As her eyes closed she moaned a little, the only thing she could see before passing out was a blue blur.

* * *

Will Amy be okay? When will I stop giving you cliffhangers? AHH! 


	5. waiting for doctor's verdict

Sonic sank to his knees beside Amy. He lowered his ear and listened closely. She was still breathing, but barely. Sonic put the oxygen mask up against Amy's muzzle and every few seconds would take a quick breath for himself. Sonic shook her gently attempting to wake her. Nothing.

He tried again, this time he shook with more force. Still nothing. "Amy! Can you hear me? Amy! Amy!" He kept shouting and still she remained silent. Now Sonic was getting worried. Sonic then noticed the golden emerald in Amy's hand. His eyesshowed amazement.He was shocked that she'd been able to obtain it all on her own, but in the back of his mind he was also wondering what price she would pay for it.

As if on cue Tails and Chris came running towards them, Knuckles soon followed. They'd uncovered the original exit. Chris and Tails both gasped when they saw the condition of their friends. Chris spoke up, "We heard Amy screaming." Tails added, "We thought you guys might be in trouble, as soon as we saw the cave in we started digging." Sonic motioned towards Amy who muttered something incoherently. Knuckles said, "Come on, we better get her home." Tails helped Sonic lift the still motionless Amy.

Luckily, it didn't take very long for them to get back outside. It was still raining but definitely not as much as before, however it was misty and Tails was a little concerned. In the light you could see that both Sonic and Amy were completely covered in a sticky black residue. Compared to them Chris and Tails were relatively clean. Knuckles was probably the filthiest from digging holes for like three hours and resembled the character from Charlie Brown (you know Pigpen, the one always covered in dirt). Sonic climbed in next to Amy and tried to shake her awake one last time. Nothing.

Tails set a course for home and within seconds they were in the air. No one had much to say during the ride home. After a while Chris seemed to notice that Sonic seemed distraught. "What's wrong Sonic?" Sonic didn't look at him for a long moment. Then finally he said, "Hey guys, I think we should take Amy to the hospital." Knuckles glanced at Amy and said, "She looks okay to me, she probably just needs some rest." Sonic was not so sure. He insisted, "Really guys, something's not right." Chris nodded to Tails upfront. Tails nodded in reply and changed their flight destination. Knuckles gave Sonic a funny look. He had never seen Sonic so concerned about Amy before. Sonic could read Knuckles' expression but ignored it.

Soon they were in front of Hopefound Hospital. Sonic forgot about the pain in his leg by now and lifted Amy to bring her inside.When theysawSonicshe was immediately taken into the emergency room. The only thing Sonic could do now was wait. Chris and Tails finally convinced Sonic to sit down, but even in his seat he could not stay still. His hands quivered and his feet were tapping rapidly. It seemed like he would sit there forever until a doctor finally called his name. "Sonic the hedgehog!" Everyone else recognized the name and stared at Sonic wondering who it waswith the emergency. Sonic evaded their sympathetic glances and kept walking. "Hello, I'm Dr. Heinrich." Sonic shook his hand. Dr. Heinrich was a penguin, an older fellow with big round glasses and every few moments would push them above his beak so they didn't fall off. "Why don't we talk in here," he motioned toward a quieter room. He shut the door slowly then turned to face Sonic. Sonic's expression was unreadable. It was a mix of terror, hope and seriousness.

The doctor spoke, "Sonic, we're going to have to put Amy in emergency surgery right away. We've taken some x-rays and apparently one of her lungs has actually collapsed." Sonic's eyes widened a little and heasked, "What's the surgery going to do?" Dr. Heinrich pushed up his glasses, "We're going to remove the collapsed lung and drain any fluid from the other. Now, it is possible to have the same breathing capacity with one lung (I'm pretty sure that's true)." Sonic glanced down at the square tiled floor. He looked up at Dr. Heinrich and nodded. The doctor added, "You may also want to have your wound looked at. You wouldn't want to get an infection." Sonic agreed and the nurse led him to another room. Sitting on the cold metal table Sonic was completely occupied with thoughts. _"Geez…what would've happened if I hadn't brought her." _The nurse cleaned out his wound and wrapped his leg in gauze.

* * *

I'm afraid I have to torture you all with cliff hangers just a little bit longer. Don't fall off the cliff just yet, there's more to come! 


	6. Underneath the Surface

Sonic was now in a different waiting room still impatiently staring at the clock, watching the minute hand move. By now he just didn't have the energy to worry. He struggled to keep his eyes awake. It was over an hour later when Dr. Heinrich came back out. His face was serious, but in a way that you couldn't tell if the news would be good or bad. Sonic tried to look as attentive as possible. "Well, she seems stable but we're keeping a close eye on her." Sonic released a deep relieved sigh. "Right now we're going to place Amy in an oxygen chamber to rid her of any carbon monoxide that might still be in her body." Sonic nodded. He was a little disappointed that it was still going to be a while before he could go in to see Amy. Sonic sat back in the plastic chair once more. This time his weariness would overcome him.

When Sonic opened his eyes again the hour hand was on the one, the minute hand just before the five. He yawned and stood up to stretch. He began to walk towards the room Amy was supposed to be in. Room 211. Peering through the window he could see Amy sleeping in a huge glass cylinder. She looked like Snow White except for the fact thatAmy wasn't surrounded by seven tiny men. Sonic glanced at the clock again. Ten minutes after one. Sonic's patience had completely faded now. He looked around to make sure the coast was clear.

He opened the door cautiously, careful not to allow a squeak. When the door was open wide enough he dashed inside. He walked up toward Amy and pushed his nose against the glass. She appeared so peaceful and serene. It pleased Sonic to finally see her rest without any pain. His smile grew and he was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice someone walk up behind him.

"She was lucky," said Dr. Heinrich. Sonic was so startled he was speechless for a few minutes. The doctor spoke again, "She's lucky to have you or she probably wouldn't be alive right now." Sonic looked back towards Amy, he didn't feel the exact same way. _"Amy's lucky? It was my fault in the first place. I shouldn't have let her go alone." _Dr. Heinrich pushed up his glasses again and said, "She's tough. We almost lost her during surgery…she nearly went into respiratory arrest." Sonic juststared at Dr. Heinrich. He didn't know what to say. Then he smiled and said, "Yeah, she is tough."

It was at that moment that Dr. Heinrich's smile widened (I don't know if penguins can actually smile but oh well). Sonic was confused by this. Was something funny? Dr. Heinrich gestured toward Amy whose eyes were beginning to open. Sonic leaned on the glass chamber and tried waving and knocking to get Amy's attention. She looked over to him and smiled. She lifted her hand weaklyand returned Sonic's wave. Sonic's own smile spread then. _"She's okay!" _A little later Amy was moved to a more comfortable room. Now Sonic was actually allowed to go see her and so he no longer had to hide. Sonic lifted Amy's hand and caressed it with his thumb, "So, how's it feel to have one lung?" Amy thought to herself for a moment then said, "Hmm, not too different I guess. It's just the thought of only having one that's kind of weird."

Amy would have to spend the night in the hospital to be monitored. Just in case. Sonic stayed with her all night never leaving her side despite the symphony of rumbling in his stomach. Chris, Tails and Knuckles came in occasionally exchanging greetings. Tomorrow she'd be released from the hospital like a bird into the wild. Tomorrow she'd leave with no doubt remaining in her mind that Sonic loved her.

It's funny how in times of great desperation and panic that we reveal certain qualities never apparent before. Love must be one of those qualities. It can remain hidden within us, hidden behind fear or pain. Only when we learn to accept love and embrace the emotion can we discover what truly lies underneath the surface.

* * *

Yay! No more cliffhangers! Hope you enjoyed it. Personally, I thought the ending was awesome. I actaully got the idea for this story from the West Virginia mining accident. My prayers to any of you who know of someone affected by the disaster. 


End file.
